Louisville tops Wichita State in first NCAA semifinal

Saturday

Apr 6, 2013 at 8:48 PMApr 6, 2013 at 8:54 PM

ATLANTA — Luke Hancock came off the bench to score 20 points, walk-on Tim Henderson sparked a second-half rally with a pair of monster 3s and Louisville advanced to the NCAA title game Saturday night, escaping with a 72-68 victory over Wichita State.

NANCY ARMOUR

ATLANTA — Luke Hancock came off the bench to score 20 points, walk-on Tim Henderson sparked a second-half rally with a pair of monster 3s and Louisville advanced to the NCAA title game Saturday night, escaping with a 72-68 victory over Wichita State.

As the final buzzer sounded, a Louisville player tossed the ball high into the air and injured Kevin Ware stood up, thrusting his arms above his head.

It was the 15th straight victory for the top-seeded Cardinals (34-5), who will play the winner of Syracuse-Michigan for the national title Monday night. It is the Cardinals' first trip to the title game since they won it all in 1986.